He was always a bit too open, a bit too quick to please
Such eager men make women feel ill at ease
Relationships never lasted long
Though there was nothing in particular
You could say he was doing wrong

But now his loneliness is beginning to show
His confidence is at an all-time low
He's always second-guessing, look at him hesitate
The littlest decisions are the hardest to make

'Cause now he, he thinks of himself as damaged goods
So far no one's ever treated him as gently as he hoped they would
And he don't hold his head up quite so high
And he finds himself longing for the innocence of times gone by

She had her first man when she was 23
Years after all her girlfriends gave away their virginity
And now at last she thought her life had begun
But she sees things a little differently now that she's 31

She's had a lot of lovers, but no special man
Has ever really touched her or tried to understand
Now there's an awkward hesitation in everything she does
If only her life could be simple like it was

But now she, she thinks of herself as damaged goods
So far no one's ever treated her as gently as she hoped they would
And she don't hold her head up quite so high
And she finds herself longing for the innocence of times gone by

I don't know about you, but it seems like all of my friends
Are either being hurt or they are trying to mend the hurt
Been done to them by somebody else
And now they carry with them like a badge
A sadly damaged image of themselves

I've got a little sister, 15 years old
And there is so very much I think she should be told
But she won't listen, Lord knows I never did
And that's why I got so many scars, I struggle to keep hid

Sometimes I falter, sometimes I lose
Sometimes I get caught up wallowing in my blues
So undecided, I hesitate and yet
Every once in a while I just manage to forget

That I, I think of myself as damaged goods
So far no one's ever treated me as gently as I wished they would
And I don't hold my head up quite that high
And I'm longing for the simple days, I wonder how they got this way
Longing for the innocence of times gone by
Oh, those times gone by